le Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV)

The name "Train à Grande Vitesse" translated into English means high speed train, not really very imaginative, but seeing as it is French it tends to get away with it. There is no single TGV as such, in fact there are many generations of TGV, each generation consisting many trains. The TGV project started in the 1960s where SNCF realised that if it was to compete against the ever growing automobile and air transport it had to offer seriously better speeds.

• The TGV 001 - the first experimental TGV powered by Gas Turbines
• The TGV Paris Sud-Est - the first TGV to start service in 1981 between Paris and Lyon
• The TGV Atlantique - Set a world speed record, services between Paris and Atlantique Coast
• The AVE - this was a TGV exported to spain for service between Mardrid and Seville
• The TGV Réseau - the first TGV to connect areas north of Paris with the South
• The Eurostar - the TGV to be used for the Channel tunnel for London-Paris and London-Brusells
• The Thalys - TGV connecting France with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands
• The TGV Duplex - the first double decker TGV

There was an experimental train, the TGV Turbo, which used gas turbines, although because of the oil price shake up electric trains were turned to. Below I have got the TGV Generations.

The TGV Paris Sud-Est

The very first electric TGV launched in 1981 was the TGV sud-est which is the famous orange train as show above, which in commercial use it travels at speeds up to 168 mph (270 km/h)and set a speed record of 236 mph (370km/h) in 1981, which was a world record for a train at the time. Amusingly this is the slowest TGV around, as all other generations of TGV can run at up to 186mph (300km/h) in commercial use. There are about a hundred of these trainsets in operation. This was a complete success story, although not getting government backing this created the most profitable service on SNCF, and paid for itself in just a few years. This success story is what lead to the later generations of the TGV.
Pictures of the Paris Sud-Est TGV

The TGV Atlantique

Since then the TGV has grown and new generations have appeared, like the TGV Atlantique, the grey train as shown here. I have focused on the TGV Atlantique because it has the remarkable 320mph (515km/h) speed record, which is the world record for a conventional train, and travels at up to 186 mph (300km/h) in commercial use, since 1989, making it the first train ever to achieve the 300km/h mark in commercial use. It was called the Atlantique because it was designed for TGV services along the coast by the Atlantic ocean. Many trains have been derived from the TGV Atlantique, such as the AVE (a TGV for spain), and was the basis for 3rd Generation TGVs
Pictures of the Atlantique TGV

TGV Réseau

This generation is visually indistinguishable from the TGV Atlantique, although it does have some differences. It was designed to run on the whole TGV network, and it has an important feature, the passenger coaches are pressure sealed. This is because when trains enter tunnels at speeds over 100mph or 160km/h, large pressure changes can occur which can be painful to passengers ears. This is the first train in the world to be sealed. Called Reseau because it means network, and this is designed as a full network TGV. It was introduced in 1993. This represented the 3rd generation of TGV, the first TGVs to have a design speed of 200mph or 320km/h. This is so the speed can be slightly increased from 186mph 300km/h if desired in the future. (Note: An extra 14mph or 20km/h is really not a lot!)
Pictures of the Reseau TGV

The TGV Duplex

This is an interesting generation of the TGV, duplex in English means two levels, this is a double Decker train. It was built because the TGV has been a victim of its own success, SNCF found it hard to supply enough TGV services to cope with the ever increasing demand. The Paris Lyon line had reached saturation point with up to one train running every three minutes, there was no way more trains could be put into action. One solution was to have two TGV sets coupled together, and this is now the norm for TGV. Even two sets coupled together can't give the demanded capacity though, so it was decided to deal with the problem to build a double-decker TGV train. There were two main advantages, it had 45% more capacity, and only had 4% more drag than a conventional TGV. Naturally this is capable of 300km/h or 186mph in revenue service. It was introduced in 1996.
More Pictures of the Duplex TGV

The Nouvelle Generation - Future TGV

There are long term plans to further upgrade trains and track so that in the 21^st century some trains will be able to run as fast as 360km/h or 225 mph in commercial use. Various things have to be sorted out though, such as the problem of wind turbulence around the wheels and noise considerations. The Nouvelle Generation TGVs will be designed to travel at these speeds. Also France looks towards a tilting train to run on existing track. This would be able to reach speeds of up to 250km/h (156mph) on non-high speed line, at the moment it is 220km/h (138mph) but limited by curves.

Other Generations

Naturally there have been other generations which can be seen on different pages:

• The Eurostar - incorporating TGV technology
• The Thalys - the international TGV
• The AVE - TGV exported to Spain

The Record Run

The Record run emerged out of a series of test runs. The aim was to achieve very high speeds over 500km/h or 300 mph, which had never been achieved before. To read about the test runs which led up to this record see:

Chronology of Record Runs

Despite a very high world record of 320mph, 515km/h these speeds are not viable for commercial use, and may never be. There are problems encountered with pantographs contact and wear and tear to equipment is too high. Of course there are saftey issues too which prevent civilians travelling at such high speeds.

The Average Speed

Between Lille Europe and Roissy CDG the TGV averages a speed of 254.5km/h or 158mph, second highest sheduled speed in the world. Still other TGV services often have very high average speeds often over 200km/h or 125mph. Note for comparison: The general average speed of the car is accepted as 45mph or 72km/h

Where TGVs run at full speed:

In order to run at speeds around 200mph or 300km/h dedicated tracks have been built, called high speed lines, (Lignes a Grande Vitesse, LGVs). TGVs run all over france, however only about 30% of the TGV network runs on high speed lines. This is because a major high speed line is built, and then TGV services can have a fast run, then branch off onto normal railways to go into cities. On normal railways the TGV only reaches 138mph or 220km/h. Although this sounds fast in reality normal railway lines usually large amounts of speed restrictions because of curves and level crossings and through stations. As a result the speed of TGVs on non high speed line is very variable.

TGV Sud-Est

The TGV sud est's high speed line runs all the way from Paris to Lyon. About half way down there is a branch off the high speed line for services to Dijon, Strasbourg and Switzerland. Also Sud-est TGVs may go further south than Lyon, running on normal lines.

TGV Atlantique.

TGV Reseau

The TGV Reseau runs everywhere, along the high speed line between Paris and Brussels, and Paris and Calais (the line is where Eurostar and Thalys trains run at their full speed)

TGV Duplex

The TGV duplex is the double decker TGV. It only runs from Paris to Lyon, where the most traffic is. As a result it never travels on normal railway lines

Travelling on the TGV

There are huge benefits to such a high speed rail system, I once took a train from Paris to Marseilles, which is a distance of 600 miles. The journey took about 4 hours, giving rise to an average speed of a whopping 125 mph (200km/h) including many stops. I have known people who have decided to drive the whole way needing to make an over-night stop half way. Hence France doesn't have too much traffic problems. Naturally there are environmental considerations. Because of the high-tech low friction design of the train, once it is running, it needs very little energy to keep it going. At 165 mph the engines can be switched off, and the deceleration is not even noticeable.

The excellent track laying techniques of French engineers mean the train is as smooth as an aircraft in clear skies, and there are no vibrations at all, and so quiet you could hear someone whispering at the other end of the carriage.

Oh yes, overall this is a very remarkable train and is rightly the envy of the world.

See Also:

• The TGV Turbo - the very first TGV
• Electric Trains
• All about high speed lines

Related Links:

• More Pictures of The TGV
• The TGV pages - much more detail on the TGV

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